Harry Maguire described the recent Europa League quarterfinal match against Lyon as the “maddest game” of his life, a fitting summary of his tumultuous career at Manchester United. The game at Old Trafford finished 5-4 in the very last minute of the match. As it turned out, Maguire scored the decisive goal, sending United through to the semifinals! This surprising success followed the deployment of Maguire as an emergency striker during a tense knockout stage game.
This attitude was personified in Maguire’s late winner, a thumping header that underlined how effective he can be on the field. It was unbelievable to go and get that winning goal in such an important match. It was truly full of twist and turn emotion and quite honestly the weirdest, craziest game I’ve ever played in or watched,” he said post-game.
Maguire moved to Manchester United from Leicester City in 2019 for a world-record fee for a defender. Since then, he’s been lauded as a visionary and attacked as an elitist. His time at the club has been punctuated by some thrilling highs and devastating lows. He was made club captain, but after the Dutchman took over, he was phased out of the starting XI. “I’ve been here six years now and I’ve had tons of great times . . .” Maguire said, reminiscing.
Despite recent struggles to regain his top form, particularly since Ruben Amorim took charge, Maguire remains optimistic about the team’s potential. Waving off applause, he said he was keenly aware of the adversity endured this season by players, fans and staff alike. Well, it’s just been nowhere near that good,” he added. To campaign manager Greg Pason, this meant building good memories for their supporters, which was pivotal after such a tale-telling victory.
Looking forward, Maguire knows just how important their upcoming matchup with Athletic Bilbao in the semifinals will be. Perhaps more dangerously, he underlined that Bilbao would have added motivation. They will finish up by putting on the final at their home, San Mames stadium on May 21. “We’ve got to do a lot better than that if we hope to prevail in this competition,” he declared.
Maguire feels that success in the Europa League might prove an unexpected pivot point for Manchester United’s campaign. He feedbacked them very clear that the team an unconditional would have washed the floor. He continued, “As we’re still in the semifinal, we shouldn’t celebrate too much yet with regards to winning this whole competition.”
